The Putney Debates

Putney Debates 1647 Exhibition

In 1647, this church was the forum for the first debates about the nature of democracy in England. It was the first known discussion of democracy in Europe since the ancient Greeks. England was in the throes of a civil war and members of the New Model Army, waiting near London to maintain pressure on Parliament, sat in St Mary’s Church in Putney discussing the nature of the society that they wanted to see emerge from the civil war. They formulated the first known account of a doctrine of male suffrage in Britain.

It remains part of our heritage, and we have a permanent exhibition about the Putney Debates, funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund.

For opening times please ring 020 8788 4414. Whilst the exhibition is generally open on weekdays and Saturdays, it is important to check when planning your visit, since it is closed for the midday service on Wednesdays and when other occasional pre-booked events are taking place.

Putney Debates – 2nd February 2018

The Putney Debates 2018: Powers to the Peoples – Electoral Reform and a Federal UK? 2nd February 2018, St Mary’s Church, Putney.St Mary’s Church is the site of the original Putney Debates, the first debates about the nature of democracy in England.

Here, 370 years ago, with England in the throes of civil war, civilians and ordinary soldiers in the New Model Army met to discuss the constitution and the future of the country.

As the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland strives for unity in the face of Brexit, the Oxford Foundation for Law, Justice and Society invites you to the Putney Debates 2018, a debate on the spirit and structure of our democratic settlement. Over 500 people took part in the Putney Debates 2017, and a collected volume of the Debates has been sent to every MP and High Court judge in the land.

Since that debate at the start of last year, much has changed. Recent developments – including government efforts to invoke prerogative powers, Anglo-Irish relations and the border question, and the impact of external interference and ‘fake news’ on democratically held elections – have raised fundamental questions about our democracy.

The 2018 Debates will consider the need for electoral reform and the case for a Federal United Kingdom, to bring together the peoples of the UK.

Join us for this landmark debate on the nature of our representative democracy.

Constitution in Crisis: The New Putney Debates 2017

Following the success of the Putney Debates 2017, the Oxford Foundation for Law, Justice and Society has published a collected volume of essays to emerge from the Debates.

Constitution in Crisis: The New Putney Debates is available to buy in bookshops and from us at St Mary’s Church, Putney.

Featuring contributions from commentators including A.C. Grayling, Vernon Bogdanor, David Runciman,Timothy Garton Ash and our very own Rev’d Canon Ailsa Newby, the volume brings together 25 prominent intellectuals to grapple with the Brexit conundrum and debate the constitutional crisis at the heart of today’s politics.

The Invisible Revolution

The English revolution of the 17th century is almost invisible in modern London. Historian Dr. Neil Faulkner visits the site of the Putney Debates where revolutionary events took place and uncovers a story that has largely been forgotten by the British establishment.